John Quincy Adams(July 11, 1767-February 28, 1848)
Term: March 4, 1825-March 3, 1829
Political Party: Democratic Republicans
Vice President: John C. Calhoun
John Quincy Adams was the 6th president of the USA and the first president that was also the son of a president. Adams up until his presidency had a spotless record in politics, being one of the greatest secretaries of state of all time and a successful ambassador to Russia as well. However, Jackson’s presidency was an unsuccessful one, and he deserves a D for using federal funds in unpopular ways, attaining office in a corrupt way and creating the “Tariff of Abominations”.
Quincy Adams had became president despite not having the majority of the Electoral or Popular votes. In the election of 1824, the Democratic Republicans had 4 major candidates, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson and William Crawford. Since only 3 candidates could run, and Henry Clay had the least amount of electoral votes, he was eliminated, however he did play a big part in the election. Clay was the speaker of the House, and at the time one had to have a majority of the electoral votes. Since none of the candidates had the majority of the votes, the House got to choose the president. Being the speaker of the House, Clay had lots of influence over who was to be elected. A sworn enemy of Jackson, Clay chose Adams over the seemingly incompetent William Bradford. He and Adams made a deal that if Clay made Adams president then Adams would appoint Clay to the highly esteemed position of Secretary of State. It worked out perfectly, and many hated this “Corrupt Bargain” because they felt that the majority had failed to decide their president and rather 2 individuals had decided the fate of the nation, instead of the nation itself. Thus, going into his presidency, Adams was already under a lot of power from political enemies.
Goals:
Adams biggest goal in his presidency was to improve the infrastructure through his plan which was called the American System. He presented this plan to Congress in his first annual message to Congress. The plan included upgrading roads and canals which he thought would encourage productive enterprise and national currency. He did manage to create many new roads and improve infrastructure, such as the building of the Cumberland Road, the beginning of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the construction of the Delaware and Chesapeake canal. He also promoted forming a national university and spending more money on technological advances, which was widely unsupported and never really made it through Congress. Adams supported peace with the Native Americans, and treated them more fairly than other presidents, which was unpopular with the pioneers who wanted to push westward. Another goal of Adams was to protect the American industry, which included the creation of a protective tariff. The tariff which became known as the “Tariff of Abominations” was made by Adams, and although it helped out the Northern States, it ravaged the Southern economy.
Relationship with Congress:
Adams’ relationship with Congress was not very friendly. Virtually all of the Jacksonian congressmen hated Adams for his corrupt bargain with Clay, and did not support policies made by him. Even some of Adams’ supporters did not support his endeavors, as they weren’t really what the country needed at that time. It seems that only Adams thought internal and technological improvements were priorities at that time, which led to a relatively bad relationship with Congress. Congress passed the Tariff of 1828 and Adams did sign it, which was a bad move on both parts as it almost led to a Civil War, but it shows how Adams didn’t use his power to veto when he should have. All in all, Adams’ relationship with Congress was not a friendly one, and there was a lot of tension between the two.
Greatest Success:
Adam’s greatest success as president were the internal improvements which he accomplished. Adams wanted to strengthen the nation as a whole and in turn increase nationalism, and he thought that a good way to do this would be to improve transportation with the creation of roads and canals, create universities to improve education, and build an astronomical observatory for scientific achievement. However, these changes weren’t seen as the most important things to focus on by many Americans. However, Adams did manage to begin great construction projects which improved the infrastructure of the nation. The most notable of these is the construction of the Cumberland road, which went from Ohio to St. Louis. Other internal improvement successes were the beginning of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the construction of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and the construction of the Portland to Louisville Canal. All of these internal improvements helped bolster internal commerce and promoted travel. Although unpopular by the majority, Adams did manage to create a better infrastructure.
Greatest Failure:
Adams greatest failure was clearly him ratifying the Tariff of 1828. “The Tariff of Abominations” put a larger tariff on foreign goods but allowed the North to charge more for their products which they sold to the south, yet still have them cost less than foreign products. The tariff helped the North but massacred the economy of the South, so badly that a civil war almost broke out between South Carolina and the rest of the United States. Adams should have vetoed the tariff or adjusted it more so as to balance it out more, because it clearly favored the North(And Adams was from the New England). This was clearly Adams greatest failure, and he left office as one of the least popular presidents of all time.
Lasting Effect:
In comparison to most presidents, Adams didn’t have much of a lasting impact on the nation. If you actually look at his presidency, he didn’t do very much, and he only served 1 term. The roads and canals increased trade and transportation, but they didn’t do much to change life or influence history. As far as the Tariff of 1828 goes, Adams signed it knowing that it was a bad idea. Although it led to a large sectionalism dispute it didn’t directly change the future lives of Americans in any way other than that it was a stepping stone towards the Civil War. All in all, Adams didn’t do much during his ineffective presidency, and thus had little to no lasting impact.
In conclusion, Adams didn’t do much during his presidency. His goals sort of got accomplished but they were neither influential nor popular. He didn’t improve the nation during his presidency, and in the end he ended up hurting the nation by not vetoing the Tariff of 1828. The nation would have been better off without Adams, and because of this, he deserves a D.
John Quincy Adams(July 11, 1767-February 28, 1848)
Term: March 4, 1825-March 3, 1829
Political Party: Democratic Republicans
Vice President: John C. Calhoun
John Quincy Adams was the 6th president of the USA and the first president that was also the son of a president. Adams up until his presidency had a spotless record in politics, being one of the greatest secretaries of state of all time and a successful ambassador to Russia as well. However, Jackson’s presidency was an unsuccessful one, and he deserves a D for using federal funds in unpopular ways, attaining office in a corrupt way and creating the “Tariff of Abominations”.
Quincy Adams had became president despite not having the majority of the Electoral or Popular votes. In the election of 1824, the Democratic Republicans had 4 major candidates, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, Andrew Jackson and William Crawford. Since only 3 candidates could run, and Henry Clay had the least amount of electoral votes, he was eliminated, however he did play a big part in the election. Clay was the speaker of the House, and at the time one had to have a majority of the electoral votes. Since none of the candidates had the majority of the votes, the House got to choose the president. Being the speaker of the House, Clay had lots of influence over who was to be elected. A sworn enemy of Jackson, Clay chose Adams over the seemingly incompetent William Bradford. He and Adams made a deal that if Clay made Adams president then Adams would appoint Clay to the highly esteemed position of Secretary of State. It worked out perfectly, and many hated this “Corrupt Bargain” because they felt that the majority had failed to decide their president and rather 2 individuals had decided the fate of the nation, instead of the nation itself. Thus, going into his presidency, Adams was already under a lot of power from political enemies.
Goals:
Adams biggest goal in his presidency was to improve the infrastructure through his plan which was called the American System. He presented this plan to Congress in his first annual message to Congress. The plan included upgrading roads and canals which he thought would encourage productive enterprise and national currency. He did manage to create many new roads and improve infrastructure, such as the building of the Cumberland Road, the beginning of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal and the construction of the Delaware and Chesapeake canal. He also promoted forming a national university and spending more money on technological advances, which was widely unsupported and never really made it through Congress. Adams supported peace with the Native Americans, and treated them more fairly than other presidents, which was unpopular with the pioneers who wanted to push westward. Another goal of Adams was to protect the American industry, which included the creation of a protective tariff. The tariff which became known as the “Tariff of Abominations” was made by Adams, and although it helped out the Northern States, it ravaged the Southern economy.
Relationship with Congress:
Adams’ relationship with Congress was not very friendly. Virtually all of the Jacksonian congressmen hated Adams for his corrupt bargain with Clay, and did not support policies made by him. Even some of Adams’ supporters did not support his endeavors, as they weren’t really what the country needed at that time. It seems that only Adams thought internal and technological improvements were priorities at that time, which led to a relatively bad relationship with Congress. Congress passed the Tariff of 1828 and Adams did sign it, which was a bad move on both parts as it almost led to a Civil War, but it shows how Adams didn’t use his power to veto when he should have. All in all, Adams’ relationship with Congress was not a friendly one, and there was a lot of tension between the two.
Greatest Success:
Adam’s greatest success as president were the internal improvements which he accomplished. Adams wanted to strengthen the nation as a whole and in turn increase nationalism, and he thought that a good way to do this would be to improve transportation with the creation of roads and canals, create universities to improve education, and build an astronomical observatory for scientific achievement. However, these changes weren’t seen as the most important things to focus on by many Americans. However, Adams did manage to begin great construction projects which improved the infrastructure of the nation. The most notable of these is the construction of the Cumberland road, which went from Ohio to St. Louis. Other internal improvement successes were the beginning of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, the construction of the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal, and the construction of the Portland to Louisville Canal. All of these internal improvements helped bolster internal commerce and promoted travel. Although unpopular by the majority, Adams did manage to create a better infrastructure.
Greatest Failure:
Adams greatest failure was clearly him ratifying the Tariff of 1828. “The Tariff of Abominations” put a larger tariff on foreign goods but allowed the North to charge more for their products which they sold to the south, yet still have them cost less than foreign products. The tariff helped the North but massacred the economy of the South, so badly that a civil war almost broke out between South Carolina and the rest of the United States. Adams should have vetoed the tariff or adjusted it more so as to balance it out more, because it clearly favored the North(And Adams was from the New England). This was clearly Adams greatest failure, and he left office as one of the least popular presidents of all time.
Lasting Effect:
In comparison to most presidents, Adams didn’t have much of a lasting impact on the nation. If you actually look at his presidency, he didn’t do very much, and he only served 1 term. The roads and canals increased trade and transportation, but they didn’t do much to change life or influence history. As far as the Tariff of 1828 goes, Adams signed it knowing that it was a bad idea. Although it led to a large sectionalism dispute it didn’t directly change the future lives of Americans in any way other than that it was a stepping stone towards the Civil War. All in all, Adams didn’t do much during his ineffective presidency, and thus had little to no lasting impact.
In conclusion, Adams didn’t do much during his presidency. His goals sort of got accomplished but they were neither influential nor popular. He didn’t improve the nation during his presidency, and in the end he ended up hurting the nation by not vetoing the Tariff of 1828. The nation would have been better off without Adams, and because of this, he deserves a D.
Bibliography
"Biography of John Quincy Adams." LII | LII / Legal Information Institute. Web. 08 Oct. 2009. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/background/amistad/adamsbio.html>.
"Corrupt Bargain -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 08 Oct. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrupt_Bargain>.
Degregorio, William A. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade Books, 2005. Print.
"John Quincy Adams -." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Web. 08 Oct. 2009. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Quincy_Adams#Presidency_1825.E2.80.931829>.
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